This update is rolling out now so check your dashboards. If you are one of those who is selected for the pretest and you do NOT want to pretest Gutenberg, just click the "Install the Classic Editor" button.

As I mentioned in a previous post, there are already some plugins available to prevent Gutenberg and keep the classic editor so, for a while at least, you can avoid Gutenberg at all. But you will be nagged by WordPress because they are pushing this thing.

Yep I usually wait for awhile when any new update comes out. There have been many versions of G maps, G+ and Gmail where I either thought classic worked better for my needs or the new version was still buggy. Of course that's Google, but same goes for others.

Before I worked in commercial software development for 10+ years, I was ALWAYS wanting to be on the bleeding edge, trying things as soon as they became available for alpha and beta testing. I always wanted to be a pioneer.

Now I know better. If you think about it, how do the pioneers always end up in the movies?

WordPress 4.9.8 was released as an automatic update last week, featuring the “Try Gutenberg” callout. The goal of the prompt is to get more users testing the new editor and to raise awareness. Within the first 72 hours of the prompt going into user dashboards, sites with Gutenberg installed have shot up to more than 80,000, a 300% increase. The plugin has been downloaded more than 147,000 times in the past week.

Gutenberg feedback is pouring in from a wave of new testers, most of whom are finding out about the new editor for the first time. Reactions have varied widely across multiple social networks. The announcement on WordPress’ official Facebook account attracted many drive-by style comments that included negative reactions, confusion, and questions, with a few positive comments peppered in between.

Blocks aren’t doing it for me. Will classic continue to be available permanently? If I want a block visual editor I promise I will install one voluntarily.

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I’m hoping gutenberg will be totally optional.

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I see only few users who are exited from Gutenberg. The rest is for leaving as it is. Why the guys from WP still want to implement it in the core? Make it a plugin. Why not a plugin whyyyyyy?

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Twitter users trying Gutenberg for the first time were more enthusiastic about the potential of the new editor.

While some testers are quietly reporting issues on GitHub, others have written long missives in the plugin’s reviews, begging WordPress not to force the new editor on users. Gutenberg reviews are currently at a 2.4-star average, slipping from the 2.7-star average it held prior to the 4.9.8 release. Those who have written reviews tend to have reactions at both ends of the spectrum.